Insect Phenology and Integrated Pest Management

Success of any pest management program requires knowing when to apply a treatment. Due to year to year weather variation, the calendar method is the least precise. Plant phenology is a more precise way to time treatments but it is subject to years when insect and plant development are not well synchronized. Pheromone trapping can be very precise but few tree and shrub insects have had their pheromones analyzed or synthesized. Insect phenology, the direct relationship of insect development to weather, can be precise and has been adapted for computer application. Lower developmental threshold, degree day, cumulative degree days, model, normal temperatures, and observed temperatures, terminology used in computer-generated predictions of insect development, are defined. One computer program created by the University of Minnesota Extension Service for predicting insect development and developing custom models is briefly described.

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